A Good Start to 41
In lieu of a Friday Five today, I want to recap my birthday, which was yesterday. It’s hard to believe I just turned 41! Mentally I still feel like a kid, but physically, well, that’s a whole other story. 😛 Overall, though, I’m pretty okay with being in my 40s. This past year was rough at times but it definitely had its highlights, too. Here’s hoping 41 brings all sorts of positive things!
I usually kick off my birthday by getting a free drink at Starbucks. I skipped it yesterday because it was raining when I got up and I just didn’t feel like going out in the rain for a coffee. So I made some at home, no biggie. I set a birthday intention to treat myself (duh), so I used my Charlotte Tilbury Goddess Skin Clay Mask after breakfast. I love this mask so much and am afraid of going through it too quickly, so I save it for special occasions. My birthday definitely qualifies!
Treat Yo Self
I spent a lovely day relaxing at home. My family members called me so I caught up with them over the phone. I’ve never been much of a phone person but a phone chat is nice from time to time. In addition to masking, treating myself included painting my nails and toenails. And when John came home from work I opened my birthday gifts from my parents (John’s gift is is shipping late so I don’t have it yet).
For our dinner date, I created a natural makeup look with a pop of color:
You can see details on my birthday makeup on my Instagram post here. My jumpsuit is from my most recent Stitch Fix. My necklace is the Tai Blue Mixed Stone Necklace from Cupcakes and Cashmere, and the dangly earrings are The Lily from C&C (spoiler alert: they were one of my birthday gifts!).
Birthday Dinner & Drinks
We grabbed a Lyft down to The Wharf for our dinner reservation at Officina, which I picked because you can’t go wrong with Italian food. It was our first time dining at Officina, and I would totally go back! The space is beautiful, the service was solid, and the food and drinks were delicious. Look at my beautiful cocktail, called Smoke on the Water:
My cavatelli with pesto, mushrooms, and parmesan was gorgeous and perfectly seasoned:
After dinner, we went to Terraza at Officina for drinks. It rained pretty heavily not long before we left for dinner, but the weather cleared up. So it was absolutely perfect for an outdoor Aperol Spritz by a fire pit! And look at that freaking sunset…it was so vibrant.
About 15 minutes after John took the above photo of me, another storm rolled in. The stormy sky was a sight to see:
We sheltered under the terrace awning and continued to hang out there until we decided to call it a night (after a late dessert). We had a wonderful time and it was the perfect birthday date, even with the rain!
Birthday Gifts: Shiny Things
My mom asks me for a gift wish list ever year, so I came up with some ideas and she got me everything on my list! I’m a lucky lady. Here’s what I ended up with…
I got the CB2 Brass and Glass Tray for holding liquor bottles on our console. It’s so pretty! I also asked for the Neil Champagne Gold Ice Bucket and Brushed Gold Tongs to go along with it. These will definitely come in handy when we have guests over!
As I mentioned above, I received The Lily earrings from Cupcakes and Cashmere. I find it hard to take good photos of earrings while I’m wearing them, but you kind of get the idea here. I love them!
I had also been eyeing these gold Mini Lotus Studs from Mejuri, and now they’re mine! They’re so tiny and cute. Just my style:
Smelly Things
My Marc Jacobs perfume has been my go-to fragrance for a million years now, but I learned about this Heretic Parfum Discovery Set though Jessica Chobot of VogueLeader, and it sounded so intriguing I had to try it! I love the names of these scents (Dirty Jasmine, anyone?) and I can’t wait to try mixing and matching them.
Skin Things
You know I couldn’t go without including skin care on my wish list! Summer is coming, so it’s face mist season. I’ve used up a mini and a full sized bottle of the Tatcha Luminous Dewy Skin Mist before, and I decided it was time to re-up. This stuff smells amazing and has such a fine mist.
I also wanted to get more of the Neogen Naturals Pink Cactus LiftMax Knit Mask, because I used it once before and loved it. So I got three of those, as well as a set of Patchology Moodpatch Happy Place Eye Gels. I’ve seen these eye gels making the rounds on Skinstagram and I wanted to try them for myself!
Last but not least is the Soko Glam Hydrating + Revitalizing Sheet Mask Set. I got the anti-aging set for my 40th birthday and that’s how I got to try the above knit mask. I’m always down for trying new sheet masks, so these will be fun to play with!
Birthday Intention Achieved
I’d say I did an excellent job of treating myself on my birthday, with some help from John and my family. I had a wonderful day, and thank you to everyone who wished me happy birthday, whether it was over the phone, via text, or on social media. I really felt the birthday love!
